( cxxxvi ) 



she had dropped as I approached. This little point (grasping 

 the stem) is most illuminating, as showing how the several 

 acts are but links in a mechanical chain : the operations had 

 arrived at a point when the impulse to grasp somet hing in 

 the mandibles was overwhelming. Having picked up her 

 larva she carried it belly upwards, holding it at about the 

 4th or 5th segment, so that its anal extremity projected 

 upwards in the air behind her, and walked with it for about 

 20 yards, keeping a wonderfully straight course among stones 

 and tufts of grass. She then turned at a right angle and 

 went on for another 10 yards, and then quite suddenly, as if 

 certain of her whereabouts, put down the larva on a small 

 clear space and began to take away the minute pebbles in 

 her mandibles. I could see no difference from the surrounding 

 soil, but the burrow was there right enough, for she very 

 soon disclosed its mouth by removing a clod of earth, and 

 went down, came up again, went down backwards, seizing 

 the larva (a smooth Noctuicl) by one extremity (probably 

 anterior, but I forgot to take especial note), dragged it in : 

 then after a short pause for oviposition came out again and 

 started filling up the hole in the usual way, when I bottled 

 her for identification. If she is the same species as the Ndala 

 one she affords the greatest possible contrast in skilful work- 

 ing. [Mr. Rowland E. Turner has carefully compared the 

 two specimens and finds that they are the same species, 

 which he thinks should be placed under lugubris, Grerst., 

 until the relation between this and beninensis, Pal. de Beauv., 

 is satisfactorily cleared np.| 



" On the evening of Dec. 5th I saw in a shed another 

 specimen of apparently the same species, which I failed to 

 secure. She brought her larva (rather a smaller Noctnid 

 larva than those above recorded) into the hut and started 

 opening up her concealed burrow. Having disclosed it she. 

 look out one or two small clods of earth and went down, 

 and reappeared with a Noctnid larva (of the same size as 

 the one she had jusl brought), which was rather unusually 

 wriggly at its hinder end. She brought on! a little more 

 earth from the burrow, and (hen turned to this latter larva 

 and apparently decided it was too lively, lor she proc led 



